History of the symbols of Belgrade

Early symbols

In Belgrade, one of the oldest European towns, on the crossroads
of East and West, the first mention of the Belgrade coat of arms
originates from the time of the son of Emperor Lazarus (Lazar),
Despot Stephen (Stefan) Lazarević, when Belgrade became the capital
of the Serbian state for the first time
(1403), but until today it is not determined how it looked like.
The next coat of arms is from the period of the Hungarian
domination and is shown in the armorial collection of Fugerić
honour miror from 1555.
The tradition of the coat of arms of Belgrade was interrupted
under Turkish occupation, since Turks did not have such kind of
symbols, but was resumed after the Austrian takeover of Belgrade in
the XVIIIth century. At that time, after a proposal by the Imperial
Governor, Prince Alexander of Württemberg, the Court War Council
adopted in year 1725 a new seal and coat of arms. The literature also
mentions the coat of arms in Brockhausen Encyclopaedia, one in
Encyclopédie Larousse and a so-called "ancient coat of arms
of the city".
The first two coat of arms are considered as dubious by experts,
while the third one is considered as a wrong interpretation of Roman
coins from the first century A.D.. It is important to note that all
of those coats of arms are known only from prints or literature.
In the project of law on communities of 1914, a new coat of arms
with national symbols in it was proposed, but there is no evidence
that this law was ever adopted due to the war events of that year.

Symbols adopted in 1931

The action of establishment of the Belgrade coat of arms was
resumed once again in 1931, by the President of the Community (Mayor)
of the city of Belgrade, Mr. Milan Nesić. An increased committee,
formed of artists, heraldists, university professors, generals and
state secretaries, considered, as it is stated in the official
gazette, the task "very seriously, with much will and care". The
committee had sessions several times and considered the issue, so
that the first session of a smaller committee on 19 May 1931 adopted
the following conclusions:

The coat of arms should be shield-shaped, with a
point at the bottom;

The elements of the coat of arms should be:

the national colours;

a river, as the symbol of the original power of Belgrade;

a Roman vessel (trireme), as the symbol of the age of
Belgrade;

white walls with a tower and open gates; walls shall
represent the merchant city, while the tower shall represent the city and the open
gates the free market;

The ground at the bottom of the shield, between the rivers and
under the walls should be red, as the symbol of blood, eternal
suffering of Belgrade; the rivers should be white according to the
rules of heraldry; the walls and towers white, as the symbol of
the "White City" (Beograd means in Serbian "White city"); the sky blue as
the symbol of hope and faith in a better future.

On the contest made according to this, the sketch coded "Red
three" won by a great majority. It was the work by the Belgrade painter
Đorđe Andrejević-Kun. As suggested by the jury, the sketch was
modified in minor details, awarded and officially adopted as the
sketch of the coat of arms, printed in colours in Beogradske
opstinske novine #1/32. The same year, according to an article from the same newspaper on the
Spasovdan ceremony (being also the day of Belgrade), "the flag with the new coat of arms of Belgrade" was hoisted.

Symbols adopted in 1991

After the Second World War, with changed social atmosphere, the
city seemed to forget its coat of arms. The legal solutions are from
total absence of regulations on the coat of arms, over the use of the
term "emblem" without blazon, to the regulations with a stylized blazon without further documentation.
With the confusion made by the use of two coats of arms,
heraldically unacceptable, and with critical reactions of the
citizens, in the beginning of 1991, the Assembly of the City of
Belgrade initiated a procedure to solve the problem. A working group
was formed by Mr. Dragomir Acović, the highest authority in Serbian heraldry and the Chairman of the Serbian Heraldry Society, Mrs. Mira Kun, the daughter of Đorđe Andrejević-Kun, Mr. Branko Miljus, painter, and Mr. Tomislav Lakusić, the Secretary of the Assembly.
The working group concluded to the restoration of the coat of arms of
1931, with three minor corrections in the graphical layout of the coat of
arms, blazon of the coat of arms and the flag of the city. With
Statutes of the City of Belgrade of 1991, the suggested designs were
adopted, which formally and legally confirmed the importance and value of
the Belgrade coat of arms of 1931.

Legal provisions

The standards of the coat of arms and flag of the city of Belgrade
and graphical standards for their representation, made by the Serbian
Heraldic Society "White Eagle", were published in
Službeni list grade Beograda (Official gazette of the city of
Belgrade) #14/96 for the coat of arms, and #8/97 for the flag.

Use of the municipal flag of Belgrad

The flag of Belgrade has been in use since 1995, last time before that the flag was flown is in 1932, during litany in occasion of Ascension day. Presumably that flag of 1932 was a single copy produced for that
occasion (Source: Dragomir Acović:, Glas Javnosti, 11 November 2001*)

Quoting the municipal website:

The usage of a correct flag is a matter of pride.
Usage approval is not necessary, but incorrect and improper usage and
misuse which insults the dignity of Belgrade citizens will be penalized.
Therefore, previous consultation is recommended.

The flag of Belgrade was seen in use many times throughout the 2000s, particulary in football/basketball matches, used by supporters of FK/KK Partizan, FK Crvena Zvezda, and OFK Beograd.
The flag was also widely used in the political campaign for the presidential
election held a few days ago.
I have seen versions of theflag of Belgrade vertically hanged and in proportions c. 1:3, with the same square design, and upper part in blue and lower in red, but this was only arbitrary, unoffical and false usage of the flag in front of a hospital in Zemun.

Ivan Sarajčić, 5 February 2008

* There are a few things claimed by Acović that I am not sure are quite correct or at least are up to discussion. Possibly the jouranlist's form of the interview does not provide for the exactness in some of these; also note the date of this interview is in 2001.
- he claims that the etalons (of the state symbols) were last time
adopted by the government in 1946. I am not aware of any etalons being
adopted at the time - the symbols of the republics within Yugoslavia were adopted at the end of 1946, and prescribed in the beginning of 1947 in their respective constitutions, but I do not think that any particular further details were ever issued that could be considered as "etalons".
- he states that the flag of the President should be flown on his residence whenever he is in the country (he also states that this was at the time totally unregulated, but this is how he sees it should be done) - as far as I know, this is not quite usual practice - the flag (standard) is flown over the residence rather when the head of state is in it physically - not when he is in the country.
- he refers to federal regulations regarding flags that require the
flag to be flown horizontally and that the vertical ("labarum" style,
as he calls it, we would say banner-like, I guess) hoisting from a
crossbar is forbidden (he states that such practice is only in church
rituals and some military ceremonies) or at least inappropriate. As
far as I am aware (but without checking the sources) I do not remember
any such provision in Yugoslavia / Serbia and Montenegro flag regulations ever mentioned.

Željko Heimer, 8 February 2008

The newspaper Le Monde published on 4 February 2008 a photograph taken in Belgrade after the victory of Boris Tadić in the presidential
elections.
The flag shown on the picture, clearly in non official use, does not seem to be square, as officially prescribed, but rectangular.

Pascal Vagnat & Ivan Sache, 5 February 2008

Greater and middle coat of arms of Belgrad

On the Serbian Orthodox Church website (page no longer online), there is a representation of the Belgrade coat of arms as an escutcheon on a white eagle, with mural
crown, and orders, captioned:
"The greater coat of arms of the city of Belgrade,
proposed by the Serbian Heraldic Society 'White Eagle'."
Similarly, there is a coat of arms with crown and orders,
captioned:
"The middle coat of arms of the city of Belgrade,
proposed by the Serbian Heraldic Society 'White Eagle'."
It is not clear if these two coats of arms were officially
adopted, or are only proposals that were eventually not adopted.

The four orders in the coat of arms are described as follows:

The city of Belgrade carries four orders of merit:
1. Order of the Légion d'Honneur. Awarded to the city on 21
December 1920
Established on 19 May 1802 by Napoléon Bonaparte, awarded
in five grades as the highest order in France, the order was awarded
to the city by Marshal of France and
honourary vojvoda of Serbian Army Louis Franchet d'Espèrey (1856-1942).
Except Belgrade, only two cities not in France were awarded it:
Liège
(Belgium) and
Luxembourg.
2. War Cross. Awarded to the city on 8 October 1925
Established by the Czechoslovakian
temporary government in Paris on 7 November 1918 as the highest state
war order in one grade, it was awarded for courage and initiative in
battle against enemy and for heroic deeds in combat for independence in
1914-1918.
3. Order of Karađorđe Star with Swords. Awarded to the
city on 18 May 1939.
Established in four grades on 1 January 1904 by King Peter I of
Serbia. The group with swords for war
merits was established on 20 October 1912. The Minister of the Army
and Navy, Army General Milutin Nedić, as the representative of HM
King Peter II of Yugoslavia, awarded this highest war order to the
President of the Community of Belgrade, Mr. Vlado Ilić on
Spasovdan ceremony.
4. Order of People's Hero. Awarded to the city on 20
October 1974.
Established on 15 August 1943 in one grade as the order for people
that gained title of People's Hero, established some time earlier.
The design was made by Đorđe Andrejević-Kun, and plastic design by
Antun Augustinčić.

Source:
Serbian Orthodox Church website (page no longer online).

Text translated by Željko Heimer, 17 April 1999

University of Belgrade

Flag of the University

The University of Belgrade has adopted new statutes and
regulations on 12 July 2006, including one chapter prescribing the new flag and coat of arms of the University. According to Serbian PBS TV news, the symbols were proposed by the Serbian Heraldic Society "White Eagle", and unanimuously adopted by the Board of the University. They are described as "an elegant union of tradition and modernity".
The flag is a banner of the arms of the University.
On a photograph, the flag is shown vertically with three square tails.

Milan Jovanović, 2 March 2008

Flag of the Faculty of Security Studies

The flag of the Faculty of Security Studies, as shown on a photograph, is vertically displayed, blue with three square tails and the coat of arms of the Faculty in the middle.